Hundreds of U.S. companies are dedicated to solving the route optimization puzzle in logistics. If you live in America, it’s easy to get tunnel vision for the endless sea of innovative supply chain companies with U.S. roots, but companies all over the world are busy solving the same problem.
One of them, Chile’s SimpliRoute, this week announced its expansion to the U.S. The route optimization startup, which serves small businesses and big-name customers like Walmart in over 25 Latin American countries, will launch in Miami before adding more U.S. cities to its network.
SimpliRoute’s main calling card is its focus on sustainable delivery. To date, its clients have achieved a 34% reduction in CO2 emissions, and they saved more than 6.5 million gallons of fuel in 2021.
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“We believe that green logistics must be a priority for all industries right now,” said Álvaro Echeverría, founder and CEO of SimpliRoute. “Minimizing the ecological impact of the delivery industry is no longer optional. In SimpliRoute we are excited to bring the AI-driven solutions that are transforming the last mile to a much more sustainable sector, one that is desperately looking for renewal in a low carbon footprint era.”
Of course, the way SimpliRoute minimizes its environmental impact is by reducing delivery times and distances. The firm’s clients have seen a 30% reduction in delivery times and have saved 34% on logistics costs incurred from traveling longer distances.
“We trusted SimpliRoute to support us in the development of a tech platform that allowed us to be more efficient and optimize our processes,” said Varinia Maluenda, data steward lead of omnichannel supply chain at Walmart. “We integrated the necessities of the business and understood what was happening in the teams that were going to be transformed by an AI and optimization algorithm. Together we built this project.”
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Interestingly, SimpliRoute didn’t get its start in parcel logistics. Its roots are in providing route optimization for emergency services in Chile, which helped Echeverría see the potential of his solution. Today, the company has completed more than 50 million deliveries for over 1,000 customers across four continents.
In December, SimpliRoute raised $8 million to support its expansion into Brazil, Canada and now the U.S. It plans to serve the North American market with delivery services for logistics and distribution, retail, e-commerce, food and more.
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